iceman - preservation Essay

Science plays a major role in assisting archaeologists and researchers reconstruct the past. In the case of Ötzi, scientific research resulted in magnificent findings and continues to make great finds and extract evidence from the body and the equipment found with it.

My senior project was over the History of Tattooing, I chose this as my topic because Tattoos really interest me with all the different styles and meanings behind them. Some things I already knew about Tattooing is a lot of tribes used tattoos to symbolize things, but I didn’t know what.

It is said that a frozen body will stay preserved over hundreds, even thousand of years.

Egypt is generally accepted as the birth place of tattoos. Tattoos were widely accepted and

From the Stone Age to the present day, the symbols and traditions of tattooing throughout history are fascinating.

The history of tattooing date back to the first man, Otzi, in 3300 B.C. who was found frozen in the Alps (Nat-A-Tat2) and the history piercing date back to different primitive tribes for their beliefs (Tribu). Scientists say that the tattoos he had were for medical reasons. When they found his body, they took X-rays and where there were tattoos was where his bones had started to decay. His tattoos were on his back, knees, ankles, and feet. The ink used on his tattoos was made of powdered charcoal and rubbing it into his cut skin. Many ancient civilizations did tattoos and piercings for example the Egyptians, Greeks, Japanese, Arabian and Siberians. Many mummies have been found with tattoos and are the oldest bodies to be found with gauged or stretched earlobes (Tibu). The Egyptians were also the ones who brought tattooing to Greece and to Arabia (Nat-A-Tat2). In Japan, tattoos were used for beauty, beliefs “and to mark criminals” (Nat-A-Tat2).

For as long as there have been people, there have been methods of distinction amongst them. Throughout the years we have discovered ways in which to express our beliefs, our ideals, and our passions. Tattooing has been one of forefront methods in expressing our humanity, or in certain cases, our lack there of. For so many, they have taken on many different representations, each with an equal level of significance. The importance found in the symbolism of tattoos and their cultural relevance has consistently been a trend found throughout history, religion, and art.

Egypt of 5000 years ago utilized tattoos to show an important individual. It was brought over to the West by US Sailors traveling to the Philippians. It's not necessarily a good stereotype, since as it's been stated, the idea of tattooing comes from far more than just troublemakers in any country. It has historical and cultural significance all over the world.

Firstly, I have considered getting a tattoo. I have the exact time I would get. It would be at life changing event in my life. When I get a tattoo I want it to have significant meaning. In some cultures tattoos are used to display your status in the community. According to Polynesian’s culture they have tattoos that significant different things. For example the sun symbolize prosperity, brilliance, grandiosity and leadership. It can also have meaning associated with the time of day. For instance the sunrise is connected with the rebirth while the sunset is connected with the afterlife. The Polynesian take their tattoos very seriously. In my opinion with the recent trend of tribe tattoos here is where you can see cultural appropriation has effect

Albert Zink (Biological Anthropologist) worked as the lead examiner of the Iceman and as the head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman.

In 512 BC, the Greeks adopted the Persians way of tattooing which was used for slaves, convicts and prisoners of war by tattooing letters onto their foreheads; the point was to make it impossible for a runaway to be unnoticed (Hesselt van Dinter, 2005). For the

The oldest tattoos to have been found on a body were dated back to over 5,300 years ago. They were found on the body of a mummy named Oetzi. There were over 50 tattoos on the body, some which consisted of parallel lines, a

For centuries, ink on skin has been a synonym for social markers, group identity, and perpetration of traditions. Tattoos in the past were a permanent hallmark--a stamp of authenticity and a mark of permanent fidelity to a cause, a group, or to an identity. They were a loud statement of culture and belonging. They served as amulets, symbols, and religious traditions. However, nowadays, tattoos seem just the product of a capricious and vain pop culture. They seem cheap and easy souvenirs from travel adventure, bachelorette parties, and army service. They seem a symbol of individualism and capitalism.

The history of human culture is a continuous development of the social world and the natural world. Their identity is realized through the system of signs and symbols. The symbolic signification of a wide range of cultural events and facilities helps in streamlining human living space in all periods of its development and existence. Signs and symbols are one of the most meaningful concepts in culture. They represent a universal category, which implies a juxtaposition of the objective image and its deeper meaning. Every symbol has an aesthetic information, which, in turn, has a huge number of degrees of freedom, exceeding the capabilities of human perception. One of the most vivid symbols of human culture is body modification such as tattooing and piercing, which have a long lasting history, deep socio-cultural roots, and certain health risks.

Evidently through out time, human civilizations have found unique ways of expressing themselves, through cave drawings, wood carving and even through body modifications. Ancient cultures were able to express their emotions through a particular form of body art, known as tattooing. This form of body art symbolizes self-expression of individuality, status, and culture. The purpose of a tattoo and its meaning varies from each culture and the time at which an individual gets a tattoo also varies within each culture. Some tattoos are perceived as a sign of beauty while others can be perceived as a distinction between statuses. The importance and meaning of the tattoo is relevant to the culture itself.